You all are amazing! And I’m so happy that you talked about food, because eating is something that is usually #1 on our list of things to do! We love to eat at non-touristy places and we also love doing food tours in different cities.
I think it is more likely that we’ll go in early November instead of the spring; it sounds like the weather will still be pretty good and I’d rather it be a bit cool than too warm (I’m not a hot weather person and I can picture myself enjoying ramen more in colder weather 
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I am bookmarking this thread and going to copy everything to a document. I’m getting excited about this trip! Thank you!
Ooooh!!! Now I want to add Japan to my ever growing bucket list!
I do not have a bucket list, but if I had one, Japan would be smack at the top of it. 
I have been to Japan. For me the most amazing part was the Japanese people and the safety I felt there. The patience of waiting in line and getting around is amazing. The food - definitely an experience and I did find the language barrier difficult at times. Not as many people spoke English as I expected.
In all honesty, Japan is the only place I have traveled to which I would not return. There are just so many other places to go. For me, I would not spend much time in Tokyo or cities. I found much of Japan to be very westernized which ins’t what I’m looking for when I travel. IMHO I think the gardens and places away from the cities are most rewarding.
I lived in Japan for ten years and went back to visit friends this summer. I’m not a city person and I could do without spending time in Tokyo but my city-living friends enjoy Tokyo.
I love the safety of Japan and how polite and kind Japanese people are.
May is a good time to visit. November can be cool, but I think it would be comfortable to sightsee with a warm jacket.
We have stayed in inexpensive, older Japanese style accommodations that did not have central heating and that would be the only thing I would worry about in November. I would just make sure the places you are staying have central heating unless you don’t mind chilly nights and space heaters.
November might be pretty with the fall colors.
I love Kamakura which is an hour from Tokyo. It’s like a little Kyoto. The Buddha there is well known but there are also other nice temples and shrines that shouldn’t be over run with tourists. Hase Temple, Hokokuji, Zeniarai benten, Hachimangu Shrine. Kita-Kamakura is one train stop away. It can be so quiet and the temples there are lovely.
In Kyoto, I liked Fushimi Inari and Sanjusangendo in addition to the more popular places.
One of our favorite days this summer was in Nara. But you might not like it if you don’t like deer.
I went to Hiroshima many, many years ago but my impression of Hiroshima is that the people were extraordinarily friendly and helpful.
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My relatively well traveled son (Europe, Southeast Asia, So America) spent 2 weeks in Japan earlier this year – and was blown away. Blown away by the “differentness” of the country. It’s so, so exotic to us Westerners. He loved that tension between the ancient and the super modern. Between the familiar and “the other.” He did NOT have language difficulties: load Google Translator onto your smartphone, practice using it, and you’re good to go. Google maps will take you where you need to go; a sense of humor and acceptance of help from kindly strangers will be crucial when/if you get confused. My son was so impressed he’s now saving vacation days and money for a return trip. He says, Japan may be his favorite country ever.
I am from Japan. I’m so honored that you want to visit Japan!!
I haven’t read the whole thread so pardon me if there are overlaps. (or contrasting opinion)
May is the best time weather-wise. It’s warm and peaceful. Flowers bloom and everything feels alive! November is nice if it’s early November. We have a phrase “Autumn for eating”. The food in Japan is the best in Autumn.
I’m from Osaka, so I cannot say much about Tokyo. I have been to Tokyo only a couple of times but I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people! As long as you stay in central Tokyo, most of the signs are written in English. However, people’s conversational English is pretty bad.
If you have two weeks, I think it’s doable to do all Tokyo, Osaka/Kyoto, and Hiroshima. It might be tiring, but doable.
Osaka and Kyoto is right next to each other, so it’s easy to get around both cities in one bundle.
Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto is 3 hours away by Shinkansen (bullet train) and Osaka/Kyoto to Hiroshima is about 1.5 hours by Shinkansen.
Tokyo - You should check out modern central Tokyo. It’s busy busy busy! If you are familiar with the story of Hachi the dog, you should check out Shibuya Station where his statue is. Akihabara is the city of electric gadgets. Ginza is for high fashion. Asakusa is old Tokyo and Harajuku is young people’s mecca.
Osaka - Osaka castle for sight seeing. Around Umeda station is good for shopping. Night life in Dotonbori near Namba station is wonderfully chaotic with all the neon signs for eateries.
Kyoto- Too many places to visit! Gold pavilion is beautiful (cannot go inside). I really liked Nijojo (Nijo Castle) You can go inside the building. You can really see how samurai lived in 1600’s. Gion area is wonderful. We tried to catch a glimpse of real working geisha/maiko and we did!! We didn’t get to go but Kyoto Imperial Palace must be nice, too. It’s close to Nijo Castle.
Hiroshima- My father is from Hiroshima. I think the visit to the Peace Memorial will be nice. Miyajima is beautiful with its Shinto Shrine gate on high tide.
Overall, I would recommend Tokyo for modern Japan, Kyoto for old Japan, Osaka for food and Hiroshima for peaceful reflection.
I’m so excited for you! I hope you will have a wonderful trip. You can PM me if you have more detailed questions even though I’m not familiar with Tokyo (most of my co-workers are from Tokyo area, though) and I go home about once every 4 years.
My brother lived/worked in Tokyo for few years and I had the pleasure of visiting him and his family. My favorite trip was to Kyoto. I remember going shopping with my sister-in-law and lost my tennis bracelet. We went back to the store where I thought I lost it and sure enough they had it in an envelope waiting for me to pick up.
If you are looking for another place to visit and not stay in Japan for 2 weeks, I would highly recommend Taiwan. You’ll be able to get very good food at a much lower price than Japan. There is the wonderful national museum in Taipei. It is only few hours from Japan.
I really like to do one country at a time and not try to do too much. But we spent a few days in Taipei last year and really enjoyed it. Good food, went for hike on Elephant Hill, agree the museum is fabulous (spent an entire day there).
I agree with @HiToWaMom about Nijo Castle in Kyoto. I forgot about that one but it shouldn’t be missed.
Kiyomizu Temple is a very popular tourist destination. There has been a lot of repair work going on and if you are short on time, it might be worth trying to find out the status of that. The scaffolding, etc., impacted our recent visit.
The shopping streets leading up the hill to Kiyomizu Temple are a good place to buy souvenirs. But you can find less expensive stuff at 100 yen shops. A lot of the souvenirs we saw on our recent trip were made in China, though.
We did a 2 week trip to Japan in July. I have a google doc listing our itinerary I would be happy to share with you ( we went back and added comments after the trip). I wouldn’t add on another country - there is so much to see/do in Japan.
In brief:
5 nights in Tokyo
Bullet train to Kanazawa - we spent 2 nights in a Ryokan
5 nights in Kyoto with side trips to Osaka and Hiroshima
Last night in Tyoko
We bought the Japan Rail Pass and used it a lot.
Best Resources found at https://www.japan-guide.com/
Good itinerary https://www.neverendingfootsteps.com/two-week-itinerary-japan/
I did a lot of research before we went. Don’t be afraid to use the trains/ subway - so easy and google maps will even tell you which carriage number to use/ exit to take.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. Happy to help.
We will definitely go back.
Loved Japan, especially Kyoto. Not a fan of the crowds on the train and the cigarette smoking.
@Sally22 - I would love to see your Google Doc if you don’t mind sharing! You can PM me with details. Thanks so much!
We are a physically active couple in the 50s, with a 16 y.o. daughter.
After our first trip to Japan, a few years back in November, when we only visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and the vicinities for about 8 days, this year we spent the entire month of August roaming the country, from Ishigaki, one of the southernmost islands (close to Taiwan) to northern Hokkaido. We are hoping to come back one day, it was a dreamy experience, despite some surprises, like the last minute VRBO cancellation in Tokyo.
Without repeating much of what has already been said, a few pieces of advice:
- November is the second most popular period for travel because of the maple leaves. Especially Kyoto, with temples lit at night, and the vivid colors, is breathtaking. You may miss on some places higher in the mountains {Mt. Fuji area) because of the weather but not fighting the heat will be a relief.
- Make sure to by the railroad pass before you go. Your Tokyo-Kyoto trip, plus one more excursion already pays for the 1-week pass, and the 2-week pass is only about 50% more. The trains are fantastic. They change everything - a day trip of 300 km each way from your base in a big city is easy and not tiring (1-1.5 hrs each way). The Hyperdia web site has super detailed schedules, download it to your phone.
- The portable wi-fi (plus WhatsApp) delivered by mail to the first hotel, worked extremely well for us, instead of SIM cards.
- While we used VRBO and AirBnb in several places, the experience was so-so, from exaggerated descriptions to downright dishonesty (fake photos, misleading descriptions). Your "roomy two-bedroom apartment" may be a 350 sq ft place with a small kitchen and a room with a paper-thin partition. I would still use these services - but adjust your expectations.
- Even if you hate crowds, Tokyo rush hour is something to experience at least once (I would recommend Shinjuku for that).
- If you like hiking, don't limit yourself to big cities. Nature in Japan in gorgeous, and reaching the right place is easy. Miyajima Island for the floating temple gate and a great mountain hike, and the art island Naoshima were fantastic.
- If you like hot springs but not quite ready for the 100% native ritual, Yunessun Spa Resort in Hakone has the westernized version (with swimsuits on) and also pools with green tea, red wine and sake! Sounds cheesy but it was great fun.
I will be happy to share more specifics but don’t want to overwhelm, feel free to PM if something caught your interest.
I’ve been to Japan quite a few times for vacation and for work. Japanese are by far the best people in the world. Oh, and you can go to a crowded shopping mall or restaurant and left your belongings there (phone, purses), you can come back hours later and the stuff will still be there. We often joked that there are 3 things you can’t find on the streets of Japan: Angry people, garbage, and fat people. Ok the fat people one is a little exaggerated, but the other 2 are pretty close!
Regarding food, I will not do you a good service if I didn’t mention these 2 restaurants:
Kyubey sushi in Ginza district of Tokyo. I discovered this place by accident, we told the taxi to take us to Kill Bill restaurant (see below), which most of them know. We had been there a few times on taxi. But this time the driver took us to “Kyubey” instead (because it sounds very similar to Kill Bill). When we got there they were confused as to why our names were not on the reservation but they took us in anyway. Typically you have to make reservations weeks/months in advance. It’s a very small restaurant. To this date I dream about the taste of the sushi we had there. You can’t pick what you want, but you can tell the chef you don’t like, and TRUST the chef to give you the best meal of your life. He will keep serving you, small dozes that make you keep wanting more. Literally the best sushi restaurant in the world. This is the link to make reservation https://favy-jp.com/topics/737
Kill Bill restaurant - The food is amazing! Inspiration from the movie Kill Bill. Most restaurant staff there speak near perfect English (for Japanese standard). It’s traditional Japanese food made in a very elegant way, and not just sushi. It’s quite delicious
As for other things to see in Tokyo, frankly just walking around Tokyo is amazing enough, you would want to LOOK at everything because everything is so STRANGE (that’s the word my kids used). But here are a few that you must see:
- Go to the Tsukiji Fish market – you have to get there before 5 AM to see the live tuna action. Biggest fish market in the world. Some Tuna was sold for 1.5 million US dollars there
- Akihabara – electronic town like no others, you are in japan, may as well see the best of it.
- Shibuya crossing - military precision with so many people crossing. I know it’s just a crossing right, what the big deal. Hard to describe how amazing it is to watch, you just have to see it for yourself.
- Robot restaurant – just because it’s so fun and so Japanese – you food there and enjoy the show!
- Asakusa everyone comes here, just because. Full of touristy and souvenir stuff. It has everything and anything!
- If you are in Japan in Jan, May or September, check out Sumo, see a few matches at Ryogoku Kokugikan, it’s Tokyo's National Sumo Hall. Very quick matches but so much fun to watch
- Mountain Fuji – it’s a little over an hour train from Tokyo. Go there on a clear day, it’s worth a trip.
- And of course temples/shrines - so many of them
The main thing that will make your trip less daunting when you get there is to study the train/subway systems in Tokyo/Japan a head of time. Have a good understand of what lines go where so it’s more familiar to you when you get there. And try to take public transportation as much as you can, you will see more interesting stuff as you ride the train/subway. Only take the taxi when you have no idea where you are going but a name and address. The hotel receptionists are very good and give clear information in writing so you can just hand it to the taxi driver, no need to speak Japanese.
I am enjoying this thread and bookmarking it for reference. H and I have an opportunity to go to Japan for the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. We are considering. H lived in Japan as an undergraduate (many years ago). I have never been and would love to go and spend time traveling afterwards.
Japan is amazing! Been to many different cities each has a unique vibe. There are endless places to visit. The cities are the cleanest I have been to throughout the world. It is extremely safe when traveling around. The people are very polite and kind. I want to go back and spend much more time there. My son is studying Japanese and planning to do a gap year there.
I tagged along with hubby on a business trip to Kyoto. It was wonderful, even though in February (cool/damp). There are 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, many of them right in town. I took two 1/2 day tours without him. I also ventured out on the bus by myself, with some coaching from the concierge. Staying near the train station makes it handy for train, bus and taxi. You can navigate back by the Kyoto tower in skyline.
We took the train on a day trip to Hiroshima. It was a really long day trip, but that is what worked with our schedule. I only went because hubby wanted to see it. I thought it would feel overwhelming to be an American tourist there, but actually the World Peace park and museum is very well done… and we encountered no animosity.
OP here. I received such great advice on this thread! Although we were planning the trip for the fall, we are in a holding pattern re: planning due to COVID-19. I’m concerned that it will make a reappearance later in the year. We will still go at some point and I’m saving all of the wonderful suggestions in a folder. As for later this year, we decided we would do something spur of the moment, depending on how things shake out. Stay well, everyone!
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@my2sunz Don’t know if you got to go or not but I lived there for 2 years many years ago. Loved being in Japan. I would check and see if there are any festivals (omatsuri) going on during the time you are there. Those are so fun and quite visual. If you can participate with them in their dances etc . I would love so much to go back but have never had a chance.
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